Junior School Term 3 Week 2

From the Junior School Chaplain – Geelong Mums

At Christian College, we see every person as having intrinsic value and worth, believing they are seen, known and loved by God, the One who created them. Holding this as our viewpoint, Christian College Geelong seeks to serve and support organisations within our local community who provide support and assistance to people in need. Geelong Mums cares for families in the Geelong community through the provision of essential baby and children’s items including bedding, clothing, toys, cots, car seats and prams. Geelong Mums supports over 6000 babies and children each year and provide an essential service to families in our community.

To support the wonderful work of this organisation, our Christian College Junior School Project Care Team have established a collection point in our front foyer, with all donations going straight to Geelong Mums. As this need constantly changes, so does the items most needed and therefore, the most in-need items will be published in our Vine periodically, as well as being displayed on the collection box in our front foyer.

What’s on at Junior School

Week 3
Wednesday August 2 – Prep Discovery Learning Session
Thursday August 3 – College Piano Performance, Year 3 & 4 Students. 9:00am – 1:30pm
Friday August 4 – Assembly, 1G Class Item
Friday August 4 – Jeans for Genes Day, Casual Dress – Wear your Denim! Gold coin donation                  

Week 4
Monday August 7 – Middle School Electives evening, Middle School Highton SAC, 4:00pm -7:00pm (Year 4 Students are encouraged to attend)
Monday August 7 – Discover Prep Week @ Junior School visit the website for more information https://christiancollege.vic.edu.au/discover-prep-week/
Tuesday August 8 – Prep 100 days of school
Tuesday August 8 – Discover Prep Week Information Session, 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Tuesday August 8 – Junior Choir performance, CCG Choirs evening (please refer to Edsmart notification)
Wednesday August 9 – Naga High School Visit
Friday August 11 – Year 3 & 4 Chapel Service, 9am
Friday August 11 – Year 1 Excursion to Melbourne Museum

Year 1 Learns all About Money!

As part of our Mathematics program this term, one of our units of work is learning all about ‘money’. We live in a world where cashless payments are the norm and so this topic provides the children with the opportunity to build their knowledge and understanding of our Australian coins and notes.

During our class discussions and investigation times, the children have been able to identify the key features of the coins, such as the different Australian animals, the shape and colour of the coins, the image of Queen Elizabeth II which will eventually be replaced by that of King Charles III, and the year in which each coin was minted.

The children have participated in a range of activities through which they have been encouraged to identify the value of the coins and to add different amounts together. The students have enjoyed playing a ‘piggybank’ game which has focused upon reinforcing their ability to recognise each coin.

This week, the children have started looking through supermarket catalogues. As they have cut out different food items, they have then been set the task of identifying the coins needed to purchase a product and they have also been ordering the prices of different foods.

As the term continues, the students will be encouraged to create a small shop where they will be able to purchase class items and provide change – a great opportunity for the children to gradually build their money management skills.

Bindi, Poetry, Family! – Year 4

‘Bindi’, a free verse poetry novel, allows for a unique and personal approach to storytelling. It’s proven, in such a short space of time, to be a wonderfully enriching learning experience for the Year 4 students! Exploring poetry and its complexities is a powerful way to foster creativity, empathy, and emotional expression in young minds.

By writing their own free verse poems titled ‘Fambam,’ the students not only exercise their language skills but were able to reflect on their families and their own lives, making meaningful connections with the content they are studying. This exercise encourages self-reflection and a deeper appreciation for the people who are closest to them.

By delving into the themes of country, climate, bushfires, and healing in ‘Bindi,’ the students will develop a better understanding of environmental and social issues as we continue to explore the poetry written in the novel. Moreover, they can also learn to empathise with the challenges faced by Bindi and her friends on Gundungurra Country.

This learning journey with poetry and the novel ‘Bindi’ is a beautiful and thought-provoking experience for the students. It not only enhances their language skills but also allows them to gain a broader perspective on the world and themselves. Encouraging creativity and personal expression through poetry will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on the students as they continue to explore the beauty of written expression.

Book Week Celebration and Parade

The Theme for Book Week this year is ‘Grow, Read, Inspire’. Over the last two weeks, we have been sharing some of the shortlisted books. In the Picture Book category, we have been reading Frank’s Red Hat and My Strange Shrinking Parents. These books have touched on wonderful themes of inclusion and celebrating how we are all different but the same. 

In the Early Childhood category, we have enjoyed Market Place, Snap and Where the Lyrebird Lives. These books have celebrated kindness and our natural environment.  

There has been much excitement about what we are planning to wear on Monday August 21, for the dress up parade. Students are encouraged to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. We will parade around the basketball courts at the start of the day from 9:00am accompanied by some wonderful musical tunes. We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate reading and books with your children. 

Coding Takes over DigiTech at Junior School

The Digital Technologies focus for Term 3 is coding, where students discover what coding is, what it involves and how to program and run simple codes for themselves. Coding activities throughout the term, are designed to encourage students to improve their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as promote collaboration and peer learning. We utilise both digital and unplugged activities to achieve our learning outcomes, and we have a lot of fun throughout our weekly sessions!

Year 1 students have begun the term, learning about the processes involved for colour coding, enabling them to understand how to program our Ozobots (colour code sensing robots) along a colour coded pathway. Students have delighted in getting ‘hands on’ with the Ozobots, learning how each pattern in the colour code tasks Ozobot with a new challenge.

Year 2 students have moved beyond the coloured markers and paper and onto their devices. They are using ‘blockly code’ to create programs and run algorithms which are uploaded directly onto the Ozobots. Throughout the term, students will explore tasks both on and off their devices, such as mazes and challenge pathways, all while discovering and developing their critical thinking and directional language skills along the way.

Basketball – Hoop Time

On Wednesday, Junior School Belmont had almost 40 students participate in the Hoop Time tournament at AWA. Once again, all the students participated with a positive mindset, demonstrating great teamwork, effort and respect for others. We had five teams competing against Montpellier PS, Woodline and Bellarine Campus.

Both the All-Star Girls and All-Star Boys teams qualified for the next round of the competition which will be played at a venue in Werribee on Wednesday October 11.

Our thanks to Marcus Hughes, Tash Cooper and Jackson Holmes-Hemley for coaching and the many parents who volunteered to help scoring. Also, a special mention to Flora Murdoch for stepping in and running the day, her help was very much appreciated.

Clubs are the Place to be at Junior School!

There’s always something for our Prep – Year 4 students to do at Junior School, with a fantastic array of clubs on offer at lunchtimes throughout the week. Thank you to staff who provide these opportunities for students. Please encourage your child to visit the clubs, to meet new friends and try their hand at a range of activities, including Lego, drawing, knitting, gardening, tinkering, dance, running and computers.

Camp Australia Newsletter

Sport Update

The 2023 All Schools XC Championships were held last Saturday at Bundoora Park in beautiful running conditions. In the wake of some very good performances at the GISSA Championships last term, the following students represented our college at the All Schools, which attracts some of the best runners from across the State.

Thomas Stefanovski (Yr7 Bellarine Campus) and Nate Bradley (Yr7 Highton Campus) competed in the U14 boys’ section where 170+ competitors completed the undulating 3km course. Nate finished in 49th position with a time of 10:57mins, and Thomas finished 85th in 11:35mins. Both boys competed brilliantly against some quality competition, where the winner’s time was 9:39mins.

Lewis Reed (Yr8 Highton Campus) ran solidly in the U15 boys’ age group, finishing 75th in a field of 150+ competitors. His time of 15:29mins for the 4km course was a credit to him, with the winner clocking 12:02mins.

Promoting Parent Tools and Resources for Digital Safety and Wellbeing at Home

At this early point in a new semester, and with several families who are new to the CCG community across our campuses, I’d like to encourage all parents to partner with us in your child’s digital safety and wellbeing by making use of the parent tools and resources available to all of our parents through our Cyber Safe Schools Program.

Base Level ‘Safety Filtering’ on College Laptops and VPNs

Most parents will be aware that we provide a base level of ‘safety cover’ filtering of internet content on all College student devices. This filtering is always active, on any network (home or school). The purpose of this level of filtering is to help protect students from potentially harmful content when they are engaging online – anywhere, anytime.

A change we will be making on school devices from August 14 is that VPN traffic will also be included in this base level of safety filtering. This is an important improvement to ensure that our safety filtering can always function correctly. This will mean that from 14th August, students will not be able to access and use VPNs on their school device.

East Timor Trivia Night

Preparations are underway for our annual Trivia Night which raises much needed funds for the work we do in Viqueque, East Timor.

Money raised this year will help pay for a new roof for Uma Maun Alin – Friendship House – where some amazing staff and volunteers run kindergarten classes for local little ones and English classes for older children and teens.

Part of the night is a Silent Auction and we are asking CCG families for any donations.

Some donations made already, thanks to the hard work of some of our prefects, include: a signed Cats guernsey, personal training sessions, café vouchers, Geelong Lawn tennis memberships, tennis racquet and re-stringing voucher, a vet clinic voucher... and so much more!

If you are in a position to be able to donate something to this incredibly worthwhile cause please contact:

Surfcoast Campus: Claire Deretic

Junior School: Carla Dunlop

Highton Campus: Graham Barton

Bellarine Campus: Samantha Bett

Senior School: Lee Stringer

Discover Prep Week

During Discover Prep Week, August 7 – 11, three CCG campuses are offering interested parents, families and guardians the opportunity to get a firsthand view of Prep at Junior School-Belmont, Bellarine Campus and Surf Coast Campus. Our Prep programs are unparalleled and we invite anyone interested in enrolling children in Prep in 2024 and beyond, to come and visit, join a class, see our facilities, speak with teachers and campus leaders and have their questions answered. There are multiple opportunities at each of the three campuses to participate.

We would encourage our College community to spread the word about Discover Prep Week to anyone who is considering school choices for their children in 2024 and beyond.

All details, including booking information for sessions, can be found on our Discover Prep Week webpage – hit the hotlink on our homepage or click here to access it.

Scholarship Applications are Now Open!

Each year Christian College offers Academic Excellence Scholarships for entry at Year 5, 7 and 10 levels. Applications are now open for this year’s scholarships, which apply to entry in 2025, at three campuses – Middle School-Highton, Bellarine Campus and Surf Coast Campus.

Year 10 entry applies to Senior School-Waurn Ponds only.

To find out more, and to apply, visit our website and look for the homepage hotlink, or click here.

Scholarship applications are open to students who do not currently attend Christian College, as well as those who are currently enrolled here. Scholarship examinations will be held at Christian College on Saturday October 7. Closing date for applications is Thursday, September 28.

Foundation Golf Day 2023

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, we are delighted to announce the Christian College Foundation Golf Day tournament for 2023.

Save the date: Thursday November 9.

We are seeking prizes for this event – if you own a local business and are interested in creating partnership opportunities with Christian College, please contact Fiona Provan on 0400 477 467, or email f.provan@ccg.vic.edu.au